Immediately following the outbreak of the armed conflict in the town of Abra, near the southern Lebanese city of Sidon, which led to the elimination of the Sheikh Ahmad al-Assir “phenomenon” and his armed forces on June 23, an uncoordinated campaign of multiple origins was launched in Lebanese cafes and on social media sites — especially in Christian circles — sanctifying the Lebanese army and elevating it to the standing of gods. This campaign even went as far as calling for military rule in Lebanon. This came after all political parties, organizations and forces proved that they had failed to draw up solutions to the problems afflicting Lebanon and its people, let alone implement these solutions.

The campaign was fed by a pure national innocence by many Lebanese. They rightly see in the military institution a patriotic school providing martyrs for the nation as a whole — not for any specific constituency — and believe that it is the strongest safeguard for the state and for the rights of citizens

Yet the opposite of this de facto innocence emerged through attempts to attribute a “heroic image” to this or that senior military official following the battle of Abra.

In particular, those commenting on Facebook pages were divided between the current Army Commander Gen. Jean Kahwaji and the Commando Regiment Commander, Brig. Gen. Chamel Roukoz, who coincidentally is the son-in-law of the former army commander Gen. Michel Aoun, the leader of the Free Patriotic Movement and the head of the Change and Reform bloc.